5E3 Deluxe and gigging

Just curious since I have very little experience of the old tweed Deluxe with the 5E3 wiring.
I tried one (the handwired Fender '57 Deluxe) in a shop and I was blown away by its touch-responsiveness. But I couldn't really get an idea about its usefulness in a band setting.

Anybody around here ever gig with such a beastie?

I found this (http://www.kilkennyvintageguitars.com/product.php?&guid=48e6324ae744b) little thing online. It's about 2 hour's drive from here and I might check it out sometime just for fun...but it would be an expensive amp if it didn't suit playing out. (I can't really afford it anyway...)
There's also this (http://www.kilkennyvintageguitars.com/product.php?&guid=492573f4361db), but it's even more expensive and probably a bit heavy.

Depends on the band (loud drummer? second guitar player?) and the venue - and your sound.

Most folks will likely say its not of gig-worthy volume in 4 piece bands or loud rock groups etc. Tim will likely say "mic it with a SM57."

I haven't gigged in a while and have only used my 5E3 build to record on so far... I plan on gigging again soon, so maybe I'll have a better answer for you shortly.

It depends on how loud you need to be and that's always hard for somebody else to say. The good thing about the touch sensitivity is that the amp cleans up relatively easily just by backing off on your pick attack which means you don't have to lose a lot of volume to go from dirty to clean (if you can play that way).

I would place my 5E3 clone's volume somewhere between a Princeton Reverb and a Deluxe Reverb if that helps you out at all. A good, efficient speaker helps a lot, and I use a 5R4 rectifier for just a bit more volume/headroom.

i can imagine that it works really well in a club with 50 people and you play some fat and mean roots-stuff. i once had a blues junior with a celestion vintage 30 speaker and that amp did exactly that with it´s 15 watts without a problem.

I think it would have to be a quiet gig unless you mic it. I built a 5e3 clone into a head version I like it but it is not much more louder then my Silvertone 1472. I built a 5f4 version of a Super with some not so traditional transformers to that amp for my gigging amp.

I have played LOUD gigs with my 5E3 and been told to turn down MANY times. I did a gig with a shredder who used a marshall stack (with a master volume) and he got his "tone" (if you could call it that) at a quieter volume than I did.

Fizzy, man, he was fizzy.

Set it at about 6. If it's not too loud, you're in a REALLY loud band. Use your volume control and touch to vary your headroom accordingly.

i can imagine that it works really well in a club with 50 people and you play some fat and mean roots-stuff. i once had a blues junior with a celestion vintage 30 speaker and that amp did exactly that with it´s 15 watts without a problem.


That's exactly what I have now. I'm just looking for a second amp as a backup/upgrade/GAS relief. My wonderful wife said to go buy whatever I need (!!!!) so I'm researching different options.

TG

I dont know if youve heard Ben Prevo(hes Dublin based). He regularly plays pub gigs with an unmiced 5E3 and a celestion Neo speaker and you can hear him fine


You can look him up on youtube and myspaces for examples

TG

I dont know if youve heard Ben Prevo(hes Dublin based). He regularly plays pub gigs with an unmiced 5E3 and a celestion Neo speaker and you can hear him fine


You can look him up on youtube and myspaces for examples

Thanks for that....I hadn't heard of him (I'm over in Clare).

Checked a few clips and decided that the telecaster fans around here might appreciate this one. Nice tone, IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfdmdRAMZXE&feature=PlayList&p=1DF4326471243DC2&index=0&playnext=1

If you use a VERY efficient speaker and get the amp up off the floor so you,the audience,and your vocal mike can hear it you'll be fine.

JJ

Ask Bill Hullett. Also, a lot of builders are making these into 25 or 35 watters. I know 'Llil Dawg and Richter do anyway.

I gig with mine and I can't get it over 2 on the vol without being too loud...however I am running a GT-8 in front of it so I can really boost the signal but I dont. If I bypass the pedal my vol is the same...I will be micing it but only for balancing issues. Love my 5e3...

Cheers
ce24

Well I have a loud drummer plus he mics the kick that and a bass player and a PA with a monitor faceing me unless it was miked I doubt it would be enough. I know my 5e3 clone is fairly loud and to be fair I never gigged with it. I suspect that it on 6 would be like my Super on 3 which is what I use mostly for gigging the past few gigs I have done. still I like a more powerfull amp on stage to make sure I have enough volume depending on where I am at. One other thing since my 5e3 clone is not a kit or a bought amp my OT may not be as efficient as some either which I have thought about replaceing as this chassis I made the amp out of was a Old Floor Model Zenith Hi Fi. I suspect maybe that might make a difference. I tried my 5e3 beside my Silvertone 1472 rated at 10 watts and my 5e3 clone was louder but not earthshakingly so.

I have a 5E3 clone with a Weber Signiture ceramic 12 in it. I play in a four piece with a really loud drummer and the other guitar player plays a SF Deluxe Reverb. I play it unmiked in small clubs all the time and mic it outdoors or for bigger halls. I run through the bright channel, 1/2 or 3/5ths up (between 12:00 and 2:00 on the dial), and then back off on the guitar's volume and soften my pick attack to clean it up. You will love it.

I think the variable that's missing in this conversation is speaker efficiency... differences in efficiency make a huge difference in perceived volume. A 5e3 or similar amp in the 10-20w range with an efficient speaker (ie eminence red fang) will bury the rest of your band in almost any setting. Alternately, a low-efficiency speaker will make the same amp hardly louder than conversation levels... Gig-worthiness of these amps (IMHO) depends in large part on the speaker, and of course on how much headroom you require. If you run a lot of effects or need clean volume, you're probably shopping for a larger amp.

This volume stuff ... can I gig, anyone gig, with- XYZ amp (a small quiet amp)? It all relates to conditions that the reader can't experience first hand. A description of "how loud" your band is or "how loud your drummer" is can't properly define in words the reality of the volumes involved. The biggest issue besides the loud bandmates is the acoustics of various venues.
I've dropped in at jazz jam sessions where my 80 watt Polytone wasn't loud enough. That's a JAZZ session. I've seen guys get by with a BF Champ un-mic'd at a blues jam. I've showed up at little gigs with an 18 watter and had to go out to the truck and wheel in the Twin Reverb just to be heard ... all because of the acoustics of the room, the size of the audience, and how loud the crowd gets just talking.

I think the variable that's missing in this conversation is speaker efficiency... differences in efficiency make a huge difference in perceived volume. A 5e3 or similar amp in the 10-20w range with an efficient speaker (ie eminence red fang) will bury the rest of your band in almost any setting. Alternately, a low-efficiency speaker will make the same amp hardly louder than conversation levels... Gig-worthiness of these amps (IMHO) depends in large part on the speaker, and of course on how much headroom you require. If you run a lot of effects or need clean volume, you're probably shopping for a larger amp.

That's true. I just took out the Jensen C12n I had in my Blues Junior and put in a Vintage 30. I can't believe what a solid and punchy monster my amp has become now. Way, way louder and cleaner.

Lots more research and thinking to do...

I gigged for about 2 years with mine, before moving to a Pro. 8-piece band, with horns, soul, RnB, blues. Never had to mic it. Was told to turn it down. I've got a C12K in mine, which has a sensitivity of about 100db/watt/meter. We used to have a second guitar player (actually I was the 2nd guitar player) who used a 100 watt Mesa. No problem, but then he kept it at reasonable volumes, since the Mesa sounded equally miserable no matter how you set it up.

If you play any club which is too big for a unmic'd 5e3, you'll have a decent PA anyway, so mic it. And if the drummer is too loud, THEN THE DRUMMER IS TOO LOUD!

I only moved to the Pro because I needed clean headroom at unmic'd volumes more than I needed the great drive of the 5e3. Steve Cropper stuff.

steven

I gigged for about 2 years with mine, before moving to a Pro....


'Pro'????

I've got a '59 Deluxe with the original Jensen. I prefer to mic amps, so I mic it with an SM57, and it comes back at me through a floor monitor. I can play just about anywhere, any size, with this setup. Some guys don't prefer this setup, but I can use just about any amp and be as loud or as quiet as I need. I have also used this setup with a Blues Junior, a Deluxe Reverb, a Princeton Reverb, and a Vibrolux Reverb.

Phil

I think the variable that's missing in this conversation is speaker efficiency... differences in efficiency make a huge difference in perceived volume. A 5e3 or similar amp in the 10-20w range with an efficient speaker (ie eminence red fang) will bury the rest of your band in almost any setting. Alternately, a low-efficiency speaker will make the same amp hardly louder than conversation levels... Gig-worthiness of these amps (IMHO) depends in large part on the speaker, and of course on how much headroom you require. If you run a lot of effects or need clean volume, you're probably shopping for a larger amp.

Pretty sure that may be part of my problem as my OT is a 3.2 ohm impedence and the only 4 ohm speaker I have came out of my Silvertone 1472 as I added a Eminence to the Silvertone 8 ohms and switched the OT to the 8 Ohm tap. With my trannies in this amp my vol is clean all the way pretty much I do not get the growl guys talk about with their amps. I am wondering if a better OT or a larger one may work better and of course a better speaker? I am thinking a 8 ohm OT would also allow more speaker choices. So an other question what does it take to hot rod these amps to run 6l6s for more wattage?

BTT

'Pro'????

5e5a - 2x6l6 tweed, fixed bias, about 30 watts, 15" speaker

I think the variable that's missing in this conversation is speaker efficiency... differences in efficiency make a huge difference in perceived volume. A 5e3 or similar amp in the 10-20w range with an efficient speaker (ie eminence red fang) will bury the rest of your band in almost any setting. Alternately, a low-efficiency speaker will make the same amp hardly louder than conversation levels... Gig-worthiness of these amps (IMHO) depends in large part on the speaker, and of course on how much headroom you require. If you run a lot of effects or need clean volume, you're probably shopping for a larger amp.

I guess you didn't read my post:

"If you use a VERY efficient speaker and get the amp up off the floor so you,the audience,and your vocal mike can hear it you'll be fine." :roll:

JJ